A Different Path
by Something's Brewing in My Head
Summary: Picks up right where "Founders Day" leaves off. Katherine is back. Jeremy is a vampire. Damon is in love with Elena. He wants to help but doesn't know how. Then a strange woman who knows too much enters his life and turns it upside down. Damon/OC S/E J/A
1. Towards Destruction?

**This fic picks up right where "Founders Day" Leaves off. Katherine is back. Jeremy is a violent vampire. Damon is in love with Elena. He wants to help, but doesn't know how. Then a strange woman enters his life. She's not a vampire, but she doesn't seem quite human either. Damon starts to doubt his taste in women...^_^**

**I am doing a slight re-edit as I found some plot holes(yes already) and just some places that needed more explanation. It will be rather dificult now with the new season actually started to make this work for everyone I think. But I hope I can do it. I still like the direction this is taking, even if it doesn't work with the timeline now. But don't worry, Katherine will still be in this with a fiendish plot in mind, it's just probably a different fiendish plot, LOL!**

**Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions, or things they'd like me to imcorporate, I will serious consider all that is offered! **

**And remember, please review! The more that review, that faster the updates!**

**A Different Path: Chapter 1: Towards Destruction?**

* * *

"Jeremy? Are you up?" Elena asked looking up the stairs towards his room. But before there was even time for an answer a loud thud was heard coming from the kitchen. Elena went to investigate…

* * *

Damon had gone back to the site of the fire. If Jeremy wouldn't let him compel the memories of Anna away, there was at least one thing he could do for him…for Elena. He had snuck onto the scene, getting past the two drowsy guards out front, and ducked under the yellow do not cross tape. When he made it to the basement and saw the charred remains of the bodies, he shivered. He had almost been amongst them. If not for Bonnie finally helping, he would be.

They hadn't moved the bodies yet because the Sheriff had not been by personally to inspect the take. She had been too busy watching over her daughter in the hospital and coming up with reasons as to why the mayor had been in that basement when it caught fire.

Damon scanned the ground and finally found the body he was looking for. The one he couldn't save, and yet had desired to. He knelt by the charred remains, lifted her blackened hand into his, and, amazingly enough, felt a twinge of sadness, the first he had felt in years. Damon quickly, almost physically, covered over that with his usual satirical façade. He didn't know his motive for coming, but he might as well attain what he had come for. Slipping from her finger a ring, the same type both he a Stefan wore, he clutched it in his hand for a moment in silence before dropping it down into his pocket.

Objective attained, Damon quickly, and stealthily slipped out the way he came.

Walking home, Damon was left to the silence of his own thoughts, and his tonight were particularly entertaining. He had finally mustered up the courage to kiss Elena, the girl he had been pining after, not he told himself, because she looked like Katherine, or that she was his brother's girl, but because she saw him as something worth saving. That had been what he had told her before he kissed her, anyway.

What was even more extraordinary, was that this Katherine look alike, his brother's girl, had not only allowed him to kiss her, which he could kind of expect, due to her own curiosity and his own extreme hotness, but she had kissed him back, which he totally had not seen coming.

And the kiss in and of itself was rather disturbing. It was great and passionate, he'd give it that. But there was something eerily familiar about the way she kissed him back. It was almost like when it happened a wave of déjà vu washed over him. The kiss, the lips, they seemed so familiar. It wasn't possible was it? She was, after all a complete replica of Katherine in all ways, but for personality. And yet, if she had let him kiss her, kissed him back, while she was dating his younger brother, was she that different after all. Unless…

It couldn't possibly be the truth, but he had to find out for sure or else it was going to drive him mad all night!

* * *

Elena had run into the Kitchen and quickly scanned the room. What she found there nearly made her scream.

The oddest sensation swept over Elena at the sight that beset her. There, on the ground lay her birth father. She didn't want to be concerned for this man who had abandoned her years ago, who had pretended he was somebody else, that _**she**_ was somebody else. And yet, the sight of his helpless form, lying in near unconsciousness, with blood pooling on the ground around him, she couldn't help but be concerned, but feel anguish for this man.

Immediately, she scrambled for dish towels, clothing, anything she could press against his wound and then rushed to his side, kneeling on the ground beside him. Keeping pressure on his wound, she raised his hand into hers, holding onto it as though for dear life, _his_ life.

He opened his eyes ever so slightly and saw the tears streaming down her face. He tried to raise his hand to wipe her tears, but the fingers weren't there and he let his arm fall limply by his side.

"John!" Elena cried out. The she noticed he was trying to speak, so she inched closer to hear.

Jonathan Gilbert's voice was low and pained, but the words were clear. "It was Katherine."

Elena was taken aback and physically moved further away at the announcement. "John, let me call an ambulance. I'll be right back!" She moved to stand but he grabbed her wrist with his one hand with what little strength he had left to stop her. "No! Too late… The ring…" He motioned towards the kitchen counter, at his now amputated fingers. "Take the ring. You will need it". His arm dropped. She could see the energy seeping out of him. And she went to hold him.

"John! No! Dad!" At her last word he smiled slightly, his head sagging, to land on her shoulder, his breathing stopped. Elena just sat there crying, holding him, until the doorbell rang…

Damon was taken aback when he saw Elena's wet, tear stained face. This was hardly the reception he was expecting or hoping for.

Elena grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hall. "Oh, Damon! Thank God you're here!"

Due to the obvious seriousness of whatever the situation was, Damon held back the retort of god having nothing to do with him. Ever. "What's wrong Elena?"

Elena didn't say anything, she _couldn't_ say anything. Instead, she just dragged him to the kitchen and gestured towards the body of her uncle/father.

Damon looked confused for a moment. After all, he himself had tried to kill the man, _without success_. "How?" Elena knew what he meant and gestured towards the severed fingers lying on the kitchen counter. He imagined no one wanting to eat off of it for years…Then he decided to ask a second, even more important question. "Who?" Damon was a man of few words on this night. There wasn't much to ask. Maybe because he was almost sure he already knew the answers.

Although knowing the answer, when he heard the three syllable name, his unbeating heart seemed to pound in his ears. "Katherine." Elena sobbed. "He…he wasn't able to say much, before…but he did say it was Katherine, and…and…I should take his ring, that I would need it!"

Damon looked again at the bloody fingers, knowing what he would find, but hoping his eyes had deceived him. "But it isn't there, Elena!"

"I know. She must've taken it!"

Damon became lost in his own thoughts for a moment. "This explains the reaction…"

Elena looked questioningly at him. "What reaction?"

Damon shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing." Just then a thought occurred to Damon. "Did anyone see? Jeremy, or your aunt?"

Elena shook her head. "I…I don't know. I had just come in…and…I found him like…that" She said the last few words barely above a whisper. Suddenly, though, with renewed vigor, "But we have to check on them to see if they are ok!" And she stormed out of the room.

They came across her aunt lying on the ground, unconscious. Whether it was from a faint, or Katherine compelling her to sleep, neither knew. "Let me make sure she doesn't remember anything. You go find Jeremy." Damon started awakening her Aunt, While Elena ran up the stairs.

Upon Entering Jeremy's room, Elena found him lying motionless on the bed. Quickly, she ran to his side and shook him. When that received no response, she felt for a pulse.

Panic stricken Elena yelled down the stairs.

Damon came running with super speed, having accomplished his task with her aunt. "What is it Elena?" But no sooner were the words out of his mouth, then he saw.

"I think he's…_dead_!" Elena collapsed on the floor in horror, now too shocked to even cry.

Damon felt for a pulse. Upon finding none, he did a quick search of Jeremy and the room. Then he moved on to the bathroom.

Elena found her voice once more. "Was it _Katherine?"_ Elena said her name with unmasked disgust and malice.

Damon came back out of the bathroom carrying two things in his hand. "Nope. Not Katherine." He said holding up the pill bottle.

Elena covered her eyes, now crying once more. "Oh God! Why!" She exclaimed, and then whispered. "Why Jer?"

"I also don't think he's dead, either. Not permanently, anyway…for now." Damon held up the other item for her to see. It was an empty vial of blood.

Elena looked confused. "What do you mean? What does _that_ mean?" She motioned towards the vial.

"I think he drank it before killing himself. And if I am correct, I believe it was…" He sniffed the blood to make sure. "Anna's blood."

Elena stood up. "You mean he turned himself?" Elena was feeling joyous and pissed all at once. Just then she heard a moan come from the bed and the former feeling won out as she ran to Jeremy's side. He was still unconscious, but he was also now _alive! _Or, at least as alive as a creature of the dead can be.

"I'll call Stefan, and then I think we should take him back to our place. Your Aunt's ok, and is already tucked into bed. Stefan and I will take care of the body before she wakes up." Damon left the room, not knowing what else to do.

In a few minutes he came back, saying Stefan had been apprised of the situation. He carried Jeremy to the car, as Elena followed behind. He didn't really know what to say to comfort her, so he said nothing. After all, she was nearing the point when she would have to decide which would be better, her brother being dead, or being a creature of the dead and potentially killing many others. Saying it had not been a good day for her would have been the understatement of the millennium.

* * *

When they got to the Salvatore mansion, Stefan ran out to greet them. He helped Elena out while Damon got Jeremy. Damon could only watch as Elena threw herself at Stefan, wrapping her arms around him taking her comfort from Stefan, instead of _Damon _who had been _there_ for her.

Damon cleared his throat to interrupt Elena's making a nice wet spot on the shoulder of Stefan's jacket. "I think we should get him to the dungeon as soon as possible."

"Right." Stefan led Elena inside, following Damon and Jeremy.

They went all the way to the basement and laid Jeremy down on the cot that had seen the nights of many a sleepless vampire. Suddenly, Jeremy started awakening, with a slight moan.

Elena sat down on the cot and put his head in her lap. She cradled him as she would a baby.

Damon let her, since he wouldn't really pose a threat this early in the changing process. Jeremy was still emotionally, if not physically, human.

Jeremy's eyes fluttered open. "Oh, Jer…Jer why?" Elena reiterated her earlier question to Jeremy himself, stroking his hair.

Jeremy looked up at her. "I just…I…_hurt_ so bad. I didn't know what to do. I wanted it…to just…go away….Did it really work?"

Elena gulped back tears. She had to be strong…for Jeremy. "It, umm…it did. But…it's not entirely over yet…"

Jeremy looked confused for a moment before passing out.

Elena looked up at Stefan in concern. "It's perfectly normal. He'll be pretty weak at first, at least until he feeds…" He let the sentence trail off on purpose. "Come one now, you'll need to get some rest. We will still have to go to school tomorrow, to make a show to the council that nothing is wrong." He practically had to drag Elena out of the dungeon, Leaving Damon, good ol' faithful watch dog that he is, to watch over the newly turned vampire. Damon growled.

* * *

At the break of dawn, a very sleep deprived Elena went to check in on Jeremy. She hesitated momentarily before tapping on his door. She was met with silence. She had to repeat the maneuver twice before a low guttural growl was heard behind the door. "Jeremy? How are you doing Jer?"

"How do you _think _I'm doing?" Jeremy hissed through clenched teeth.

Elena's hand clenched and released on the doorknob. "I'm sorry Jer, but this is for your own good!"

"No! This isn't what's best for me, it what's best for _you!_ That's what you've always done, Elena. You never really cared about how I felt. You did what you though would make me a better person."

Elena let out a sob. "I was only trying to protect you, to help you Jer…"

Jeremy scoffed. "You really want to help me Elena?" He seemed to feel her silent agreement. Or maybe he just knew her too well. "Then OPEN this DOOR, Elena!"

"You know I can't do that Jer". Her head lay on the door, her heart breaking.

"Like Hell you can't", Jeremy snarled. He pounded the door with his fist and the sound echoed. Elena jumped back as though struck.

Elena tripped over her feet as she ran down the hall, Jeremy growling after her. "Come back here _damn it_!"

Elena knew then that the person in that room was no longer her brother. He was a monster.

Elena and Stefan left for school, planning to visit Caroline afterwards. She was in stable condition, but banged up really bad. Once again, they left Damon to look after Jeremy. He was seriously getting sick of being the babysitter.

Damon himself was having an inward battle. He knew Elena could not stand to see her brother suffer and die like this, and it would come fairly soon too. But she could also not stand to see him become what Damon himself had become…a monster. And yet that had been what Jeremy had wanted, wasn't it? Damon doubted Jeremy's understanding of what it would be like. When he himself had turned, the only reason was for Katherine, and that hadn't exactly panned out, so now he was stuck as one, not having the courage to end it, or to turn off his feeling switch either, the one Jeremy had asked him about, that would make all the pain go away. It did. But it also made you a monster, and he never wanted to see Elena look at him like a monster again.

So now back to the big debate. Does he go ahead and kill Jeremy now, and get it over with? (And hope Elena doesn't get totally pissed, unlikely) Does he continue to let Jeremy go ahead and feed off some helpless human? (Again, hoping Elena doesn't get pissed) Or does he let things take their course with Elena finally having to choose between her brother's soul…and his life!

With these thoughts swarming in his head and the sound of Jeremy's growlish cries of pain in the background, Damon decides to go mess with his peeps. He'd rather be the torturer, than the tortured.

* * *

High school. Ahhhh, to be young again. Damon thanked Katherine's pointy teeth that she had turned him at a later age than Stefan. No one would ever think _he_ could be a high school student. A high school _teacher_ on the hand…But that bridge had long since been crossed.

By the time he had gotten to the school, it must've been lunch, because there were students everywhere, eating. All except for one chick that he passed, going to her car to get something. She was rather odd, actually. Like a convoluted bottle of mixed emotions and appearances all wrapped up in a neatly curved, tall, and blonde, bottle. But though she had a voluptuous figure, she hid it. Though her reddish-blonde hair was long and curly, she kept it in a tight braid. Thought she was very pretty, she hid it with glasses…big ones…like the kind from the early nineties that made everyone look like a dork.

Despite checking her out, though, Damon made no further demonstration towards her. He had only one girl and her problems on his mind right now. Which was weird. Cause he never had any one _else's_ problems, never mind a _girl's_ problems on his mind. But Elena was different. And though he heard an inkling voice in his head telling him "Just like Katherine was different" he ignored it.

He found Stefan and Elena Talking to Bonnie, apparently hoping that she might have some ideas on what to do about Jeremy. As he joined the group he oh so casually leaned in to Bonnie's ear and whispered that her hair looked "Witchy good". He felt sure that if they had not been in such a terribly public place, she would have held a feast, with the main course being roast vampire. "So what's the sitch?" He glanced between the three, who just rather gaped at him like he was even more insane than he acknowledged himself to be.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching my _brother_" Elena sounded kind of mad. Oops.

"Yeah, well…I was starting to feel a little too much like a baby sitter. And I don't. Do. Babysitting." He looked stern for all of two seconds before saying, "However, I _do_ babysitters, if you get my drift…"

Suddenly Elena pushed him back. "Damn it Damon! How could you leave him all alone?" Yeah, she definitely wasn't the one who had kissed him last night. "He's probably terrified! Get back to take care of him immediately." Wow. Bossy much. Stefan touched her arm in a signal to quiet down, because though she hadn't gotten loud yet, she was very close to making a public scene. She lowered her voice, but it still held the same amount of malice. "Damon, I swear, if you abandoned my brother, who is going through something probably even more horrific than I can imagine, just because you were _bored_, so help me, I will personally cut off _your_ fingers and see how _you _do without your _ring_!".

Unconsciously, Damon put his ringed hand behind his back. "Alrighty then, I'll just be getting back now. I just stopped by to let you know that he is getting worse very quickly and that if you don't have a plan, you should come up with one _really_ fast. Chow!" With that, Damon left them to their own brooding selves. He should've known better than to make jokes with Elena. If it had been anyone but her brother she would've just rolled her eyes and have been secretly laughing inside, like he knew she always did. Now he felt really bad. And really pissed at himself. So before he left, he decided to do what he always did when he was pissed at himself. He would go hit on some girls.

He was walking down a fairly secluded hallway when he saw the same girl from the parking lot turn around the corner, walking towards him. As she started to pass by, he reached out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her to face him and he looked into her green eyes, deeply, the way he always did when getting ready to compel someone. He begin to utter words, words telling her that he knew she found him undeniably attractive and she would fall madly in love with him, wanting him to make passionate love to her in the janitorial closet.

Only instead of making her lose her way in his eyes, he felt as though he was drowning in hers. He started to feel sick, his head was pounding and in a few seconds he was sure he would hurl. Not so pleasant a thing to do before lovemaking. But then she spoke and his head cleared, his stomach stopped flipping. "What makes you think I would ever fall in love with something like _you_?" The words were unmistakably clear, though with a slight accent, and yet he couldn't understand them. His compulsion hadn't worked. He looked for signs of a necklace, or bracelet, something that could hold vervane. But none were visible. As he stood there gaping, she just walked off.

Wait a second. _Something?_ Damon followed her for a while until she passed Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan, and then, not wanting to incur the wrath of Elena once more, decided to give up the chase. _Who was she?_

_

* * *

_

Back at the house, Damon sat down and leaned against the basement door containing the ravenous beast. School would be out soon and Elena and Stefan would be home. And Jeremy's fate would be decided.

"Damon. Why don't you just let me go? Right now. You never have to see me anymore. I won't hang around. Elena will never have to hear about me ever again so she won't be hurt by me. Come on. Think about it. Win, win?" Jeremy made a persuasive case. Only he couldn't just let him go. Because Jeremy was wrong. That would hurt her more than anything, the not knowing. He knew, because he had felt it with Katherine.

"I can't do that Jer. But listen…" Damon pulled something out of his pant pocket and held it up to the light, but not far enough for Jeremy to see it through the bars. "When you get out of there, when you are coherent, I have something for you…something Anna would've wanted you to have."

Jeremy growled and rammed the door. "How would you know what she would've wanted?" He demanded.

Damon merely sighed at this sign of aggression. "Because it would be what _I_ would've wanted _my_ lover to have."

With these words he heard the arrival of Elena and Stefan. They must've skipped the last two periods. _Thank all of Bonnie's pen pals. _

Damon met them in the hall. "Elena, he's gotten worse, you need to decide what to do. Now." He knew Elena didn't want to hear this but she needed to.

Elena teared up instantly, but did not cry. Instead she ran down to the dungeon. She saw Jeremy lying on his cot. Then everything happened so fast. Amazingly enough, she moved too fast for either Salvatore brother to stop her. She had opened and entered the cell so quickly it had all seemed like a blur to Damon, a horrific, terrifying blur.

For the time being, though, she was fine. And she waved Stefan and Damon off when they moved to enter. "Jer?" Elena moved cautiously closer to the cot. "Jer I know this must be hard. But I need to talk to you. I need to find out what you want, and I don't mean the beast inside you, I mean _you_, Jer." When there was no answer, she moved a tad bit closer. "It's been left up to me and…and it's breaking my heart." With this, Jeremy was off the cot, and had pushed Elena against the wall, his hands at her throat, before either brother could even enter the room. The fact that they pushed each other aside while doing so didn't help. "You know Damon; you should've just let me go. I told you it would be easier for her. But since you won't end her suffering…" Jeremy moved Elena in front of him so that he had a perfect view of both the Salvatore brothers and her _neck_. "I will!" Jeremy's new vampiric teeth extended and he made to chomp down on Elena's pulsing vein.

However, unbeknownst to them all, they had a visitor, albeit an uninvited one. Elena had a hard time tracking what went down next, and so did Damon and Stefan for that matter. The door banged open; a brief movement seemed to fly through the air, then land directly behind Jeremy. This startled Jeremy enough to make him look behind him, and loosen his grip enough for Stefan to pull Elena away. Damon made as though to attack Jeremy, and possibly the strange figure dressed in black, but the figure was too fast for him and had taken hold of Jeremy in a lock, with his arms held behind him, pushing him on the ground, straddling him with her legs, to keep him pinned.

The figure, whose face Damon saw for the first time since it had entered the room, looked up at him and smiled haughtily. But this wasn't the first time he had seen that face. All clothed in tight fitting black, letting you know just what kind of curves were hidden, with a braid flowing down her back in a single plait, and sans glasses, was the same girl he had hit on earlier. She turned to Elena, who was gasping for breath and with a stronger accent than before, she casually said. "I hear you're having a minor vampire problem in this town!"

Damon was seriously starting to question his taste in women.

* * *

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed the story so far! **

**Please review and let me know your thoughts. Remember, the more reviews I get, the sooner I will update!**


	2. Or Towards Salvation?

**Hello again too all of you lovely people! I got come very nice and incouraging reviews! Thanks so much! And the amount of people who added me to their alerts and favorites was just amazing! I love you all! And now here is chapter 2! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think of my other character! She may seem a little harsh right now, but trust me, she'll warm up in no time with Damon to cozy up to! hehe.**

**Ahhhh, and now for the re-edit in this chapter. I didn't edit as much here, just kinda tweeked a few things. I hope everyone enjoys it though!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Or Towards Salvation?**

"Hey…Is your skin darker now than it was before? Because I don't remember it being that dark before…"It was Damon who said this after the initial shock of seeing her take down a vampire.

Elena glanced at Damon. "So you've seen her before too?"

He just nodded. It was Stefan who asked, "Wait, you two know her?" He pointed at the mysterious woman incredulously.

It was Elena's turn to nod. "She's the new gym teacher sub. But she's trying to push for a self defense class that she would be teaching."

"Self defense! What she pulled there was a tad bit more than self defense!" Damon scoffed.

"And how do _you_ know her Damon?" Stefan crossed his arms, waiting.

Damon cleared his throat. "Well…I definitely wouldn't say I know her either. I just passed her in the halls of your school…and…um…tried to hit on her." The last of this statement was said in a considerably lower tone.

Stefan turned his attention to the subject of their discussion, who had, during this entire discourse, been patiently watching them while straddling a fully awake, and very mad, vampire. "So just _who_ are you, madam?"

She smiled as though it was about time they actually acknowledge her. She was about to answer when Jeremy managed to get one arm free and began flailing it about, trying to get her off him. She promptly reached for something in a loop in her belt, something that looked like the vervain injectors Alaric has, but smaller, and stabbed Jeremy in the neck with it. Within two seconds he was as unconscious as a rock. She stood up, dusted herself off, and said, "As I was about to say…My name is Mariutza Helzin." She reached to shake hands with Stefan. He considered for a moment, eyeing her suspiciously, and then finally took her hand. She then held it out to Elena, who reluctantly took it. Elena made to pull away her hand, but found it still Clasped in Mariutza's hand.. Mariutza leaned in ever so slightly to make it clear these words were directed at Elena. "I have a proposition for you, Elena".

The intenseness of her stare was getting to Elena, and she tugged her hand a couple of times before it was released. "But come! Let us discuss the matter over a nice cup of tea, shall we?" Mariutza read Elena's concern for her brother on her face. "Don't worry, dear. He'll be out for quite a while. Plenty of time to settle things."

She started moving towards the door, but Damon pulled her back. "Just what sort of things?"

She stiffened under Damon's hand and he noticed this with what seemed like every fiber of his being. He didn't know why. "Things like Helping Elena's brother. Things like dealing with Katherine."

"How do you know about Katherine?" Damon's grip on her arm increased.

She seemed not to notice, but simply glared him down. "I know a lot of things, Damon."

"Like what?" He looked at her as though she were a tiny being, which he could break in half without much effort.

Mariutza drew herself up to her full 5'10", squared her muscular shoulder, and stared directly into Damon's eyes with such intensity that he felt his stomach start to churn once more. Then she took hold of his hand on her arm and gave a responding squeeze, just enough to get him to loosen his grip. Damon's hand responded to the pain and let go. "Things like the population of this town consists of 1, 3014 humans, one witch, formerly two, one werewolf, formerly two, three shape shifters, one vampire hunter, formerly two, and three vampires …well…two and half, cause Katherine is gone", She gestured lazily towards Jeremy, "(He's not quite _done_ yet), formerly, though, _waaaay_ too many." She laughed, and Damon's stomach responded oddly. "This town sure does attract the beasties, doesn't it?" She walked through the door. "Oh. And Damon, its powder."

He just gazed at her confused. This was obviously a ruse to get off the topic of what she knew. "What is?"

"I use face powder to make my skin lighter, so I don't stand out as much."

"Ah". Damon tried to think up a snarky reply, but instead just muttered under his breath. "Yeah, well, you stand out anyway". Somehow, though she was a good twenty feet ahead by this time with Stefan and Elena, he knew that she had heard him.

* * *

Damon watched as this superior specimen of womanhood, the same who had just beaten the snot out of a newly turned vampire, and nearly broken his hand, his _own_ hand, was now primly sipping _tea_ in his living room. This day could not get any weirder. Or so he thought.

Elena waited as long as she could then finally expelled the words that had been on her mind for the last five minutes. "So what is this proposition you wanted to talk about?"

Mariutza raised her brows. "Ah, yes. You certainly don't like to waste time, do you?"

Damon couldn't help but say, "Not wasting time would've been beating the information out of you right there in the dungeon!"

A smile came to Mariutza's eyes, but barely touched her lips. "Never mind all that". She had dismissed his threat as though it were a so "how d'you do". "I have come to help you with your brother, Elena."

Her teacup shaking, Elena asked "You mean you can help him? How?"

Mariutza, calmly set her own teacup down, leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and then pressed the fingertips of both her hands together in a meditative state. Damon could tell Elena was getting impatient with her, and he started to move to do…something, when Mariutza stated, "You probably would prefer to not know the details as to how, but yes, I can help your brother". She stopped there, and during the silence she decided to inspect her fingernails.

Finally, it drove Damon so nuts that he exclaimed, "Oh, yes, you damnably mysterious Woman! Can't you just spit anything out? We are all _obviously_ hanging on your every word, and you take the time to preen like a prom queen!" Though frustrated, he was still snarky.

She was momentarily ruffled by the "prom queen" comment. Then, a flash of something evil (was it a smile) crossed her face and was gone. "Why, thank you Damon. I must say, you make me feel entirely…_too_ special!" This time there _was_ a smile, but it was a mocking one.

Damon nearly growled, but stopped himself. It was like they were in combat for who could be the most annoying.

Mariutza all at once became very business like. "Alright, I will give you what information I have been cleared to tell you…"

Stefan perked up at this. "Cleared? You mean you work for someone?"

She nodded. "I do, and you will learn in time who that is. But for now, you must appease yourself with this knowledge. I have been sent, by persons unknown, to help your brother through his transformation process safely." Elena was about to ask a question, but Mariutza raised a finger to stop her. "Please wait until I am done. I will also make it so that your brother will not present a danger to anyone, much like how the brooding one over there conducts his life. " She indicated Stefan. Damon couldn't help but smile. "In exchange, you, Elena, and your two vampire _sweethearts/bodyguards _will owe me something in return. I have also been sent to ascertain the danger the two Salvatore brothers present to this town, and I am to determine what is to be done with them accordingly. And, on a more serious note, I am assigned with the task of ascertaining what Katherine's ultimate goal with this town is, and…to stop her. Questions?" She seemed to have been conducting a committee meeting and the floor was now open for discussion.

The first to ask one was, of course, Elena. "What are we to _owe_ you for helping my brother, Ms. Helzin?"

Shaking her head, she responded. "Please. Call me Mariutza. That, I, myself, do not know. It is what the council has decided, they are my orders. And that is my proposition. It is up to you to take it or leave it."

Elena bit her lip. "I need some time to…to think, I know I don't have much, but I need to. I still haven't processed all this."

While she thought it over, Stefan asked the next question. "Since you are obviously not a vampire, and I don't believe you are a witch, are you a vampire hunter, like Alaric Saltzman?"

Damon noticed her mouth twitch ever so slightly. "Ahhh. The resident self proclaimed vampire hunter. I had almost forgotten him. I look forward to meeting him, by the way. I assume he will be over shortly. But to answer your question, yes. I am a vampire hunter…of sorts. But _not_ like Mr. Saltzman."

"You mean because you work for people and he works on his own accord?"

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes stern. "Something like that."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Stefan's eyes were very intent. She could tell he was trying to read her for signs of deception, trying to see if she was lying as she responded.

"Simple, Mr. Salvatore. You don't." And with that she briefly turned her attention to Damon. "And you, sir. Do _you_ have any questions to put forth?" Her accent was particularly strong as she said this.

Damon leaned forward, staring once more into her green eyes, which seemed inclined to engulf him. But this time he didn't try to compel her, or look too intently into them, he just gazed. "Yeah. Can I call you Mari? 'Cause trying to pronounce Mariutza all the time is a pain in the ass!"

* * *

Mariutza stood up, ignoring his question. "Alright Elena, you need to make your decision." Elena looked panicked. "In a manner of speaking, Elena, it will be like taming him. But because he is more than a wild animal, who will eventually become loyal to you through stern kindness and food, he was once a man, and still has a man's inclinations…and stubbornness." She sighed. "So, more force will need to be used, if you know what I mean. _When_ he breaks will depend on him. It could be days, or it could be months. But he _will_, Elena." She touched Elena's shoulder comfortingly, and then took Elena's hand to raise her to her feet. "And when he does, I _promise_ you, you will have your brother back, maybe a little the worse for wear, but he will be alive,_ and_ he will have his _soul_ again."

"But…but…he will be in so much _pain_! He doesn't want that!" Elena cried. Then she got defensive. "And he still has his soul! Nothing could change that."

"Of course not. But as I am sure these two can attest to…" She glanced at Stefan and Damon. "When you become a vampire, it is like a switch inside you gets turned off. We refer to it as their soul. Now that switch can turn back on in time…but it takes a very, very long time. But I can turn it back on, like Stefan's has…"She looked at Stefan, and then at Damon, who briefly looked panicked. "…and other's have. "I can make it so he can at least live and _feel_ like a human, without actually _being_ one. Because there is no turning back Elena. You either allow me to do this…or he dies. It's your choice."

Looking back and forth between Stefan and Damon, Elena seemed to silently ask them if all this was true, if there really was no other way. What she really wanted was a way to make him human again, to turn back the hands of time. But she knew that could never happen. She knew her brother didn't want to live with his pain, but she didn't want him to die! And she certainly couldn't let him go around killing people… Elena lowered her head. "Alright. What do you need me to do?"

Life seemed to spring into Mariutza. "Alright then! You boys collect me a hearty gathering of that blood I know you still have stockpiled in the basement." Never had any of them seen a woman so accustomed to bossing around vampires. "I'll go get my…" She raised her brows. "…tools!" Leaping into action, she was gone from the room.

The fact that this woman seemed so pleased at the prospect of torture a vampire slightly scared Damon…

* * *

"What's going on in there?" Elena was starting to panic "She's been at this for four hours! What could she possibly be doing?"

Damon's cool reply was, "I can only imagine." He had gone down earlier to try and watch her through the bars, but when she discovered him, which was immediately, she took a random piece of board from the basement floor and duck taped it over the bars, so he couldn't see. Obviously duck tape was an essential part of the "vampire hunter's survival pack". So now all they had to rely on was sound, and it wasn't sounding so good.

For the last four hours, all they had heard were groans and growls, alternating back and forth. But not one peep had been heard from her, not loud enough to be heard up the stairs anyway.

Mariutza had left it up to Damon and Stefan to make sure that no matter what, Elena was to remain upstairs or, preferably, nowhere near the house.

While all this had been going on, Alaric Saltzman had finally arrived and had been filled in on the situation. He had been surprised, of course, but had also demonstrated a curiosity to meet this more than unique woman. He was nearly itching to see this woman in action and to learn from her. But, of course, this was not allowed. So he merely could only wait and listen to the sounds, just as everyone else did.

Finally, Elena seemed to snap. She got up from the couch she had been plopped down on four hours earlier and declared. "I can't take this anymore!" And she left through the front door. Stefan chased after her, leaving only Alaric and Damon alone together.

Damon decided to chat with his new "buddy". "So what do you think this woman really is?"

The feeling, however, was not mutual, or at least not admittedly. "Well, she says she's a vampire hunter. You don't think she's human?"

Shaking his head, Damon replied. "Nope. Defiantly not human."

"Why do you say that?"

"She's…She's just _not_. Ok?" Damon was too ashamed to say that she had been able to hurt him with her bare hands…er…hand. There had also been the whole not being able to compel her even though she appeared vervainless.

"My, don't you two get along mighty well for being frenemies?" Damon hadn't even heard her come up the stairs, and now she was standing in the doorway, the sun glistening in her golden hair.

Damon found it hard to find his voice for several seconds. "Uh…Alaric…Mariutza Helzin. Mari, Alaric Saltzman." Mariutza sent him a glare at the use of his nickname for her.

But then she turned a smile on Alaric and just briefly, Damon felt jealous. "Nice to meet you Mr. Saltzman." They shook hands. Damon wasn't sure why, but he felt envious of that handshake. Now he was the only one who she hadn't shook hands with, unless you count her almost breaking his hand earlier.

"So, Ms. Helzin, I am going to apologize ahead of time for my frankness here, but who the hell are you, and what do you hope to accomplish?" Alaric said all this matter-of-factly.

Mariutza smiled. "You sure do live up to your name, don't you?"

"And what name would that be?"

"That you are very brave, very forward, very cunning, very impulsive, but also incredibly stupid. One day it will get you killed, Mr. Saltzman." She said all this with the same smile plastered across her face.

Alaric was momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered. "Well you seem to be just as forward, Ms. Helzin."

"I have to be in my line of work."

Now it was Alaric's turn to smile. "As do I, Ms. Helzin, as do I."

A stare down ensued. Damon, having had enough of this conversation now that it did not involve him, decided to intervene. "So, Mari, you came up here for a reason. May I ask what that reason is?"

She suddenly looked very serious. "Yeah. I'm starving!"

* * *

Bonnie wasn't sure who she was expecting at her door, but it certainly wasn't Elena, and definitely not in the state that she was in. But there Elena stood, looking like she had just seen the devil himself, with tears streaming down her face. She just looked so…_desperate_. So when Stefan appeared behind Elena, Bonnie still didn't have the heart to turn them away.

* * *

Elena had explained everything that had happened since she had seen her earlier that afternoon at school. All about the vampire hunter and what she was planning on doing to Jeremy and that she felt she hadn't had much of a choice but to let it happen. Bonnie told her that of course she hadn't had any choice, and that it was what was best for Jeremy. What Bonnie didn't tell her is that it wasn't necessarily best for everyone else. Jeremy was now a vampire, and since he couldn't be turned back, he now posed a threat to society, just as Stefan and Damon do. No matter what this vampire hunter lady was going to do, Jeremy was still and always would be a vampire. And thus, he and anyone who helped him was her enemy. But she didn't have the heart to actually tell Elena that.

* * *

After much deliberation, Damon came to the conclusion that she ate too much. Mariutza had been digging in their fridge for the last hour, and she still didn't seem satisfied. "You know, you guys seriously need to get some better food! I know you guys don't need to eat and all, but what about for people who stop by, like Elena? I mean, seriously." Hearing her talk in such an American way, with her strong accent just seemed weird to Damon.

"Well, sorry. If I had known you were going to stop by I would've gone shopping for a seven course meal. That seems to be how much you eat anyway." He muttered the last under his breath.

But of course she heard it. "You think I eat too much?" She just smiled like it amused her. She didn't seem insulted at all. "I have to keep my figure up; with all the calories I burn on the job and all." She gestured with a hand sweep down her body as she said this.

Damon took this moment to really inspect her figure. She definitely wasn't skinny, that was for sure. She wasn't even petite like Elena. She was just strong and tall. But she did have nice curves, he couldn't deny that. It had been those curves that had interested him in the first place.

"Now do you think I eat too much?" Great. She had noticed his ogling her.

Damon pretended he hadn't heard her. In fact, he really didn't. Instead he had noticed something he hadn't noticed before. It was a necklace. It had previously been underneath her clothes, but now, that she had become more relaxed, freely digging into their fridge and all, she had slipped it out from under her clothes, and was now abstractedly fingering it. It was a cameo, very old, and very expensive looking. Then, as though she had been jerked back to her senses, she quickly tucked it back in under her shirt. If she was wearing something with vervain in it, that was it.

Damon decided to change the subject. "So are you going back to your place tonight, or do I need to prepare a…_room_ for you." He suggestively raised his brows.

Mariutza just looked at him in disgust. "Well, I am staying here, but no need to _prepare a room_. I'll be spending the night with Jeremy. He needs to be constantly reminded of my presence and authority."

_Lucky little bastard!_ "Aren't you worried that he might hurt you in your sleep?"

"Oh, don't worry about me Damon! _I_ can take care of myself!" With that, she took a big bite of the sandwich she had just made and went back down to the basement.

* * *

**So what did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know...it is this part that always makes me nervous, hehe. But please, I love reading the reviews, they mean a lot to me. Oh, and critisism is welcome as long as it is helpful!**

**And remember, the more reviews I get, the sooner I will update!**

**See ya! *hopefully***


	3. Where Does Salvation Come From?

**Heya you wondeful people who read and review! Long time no see, seriously! I have gone back and added/changed and few things in the first two chapters, so please go back and reread them. There is a whole new scene with Jeremy in chap 1 to give you a little more insight. **

**So anyway, please read this and review. I will want some insight from you at the end of this chap, your opinion on something, so please read my farewell remarks. And now please read and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Where Does Salvation come from?**

"Hey, Caroline?" Elena poked her head into the hospital room. A petite blonde was lying down, currently asleep. A Large cut ran across her brow and Elena imagined Caroline wouldn't be very happy about that when she found out about it.

Elena moved closer to the bed, Bonnie following behind. Caroline really did look horrible, all banged up and bruised. But at least she was alive. Elena lifted one of Caroline's hands in her own. Caroline stirred beneath the cold hospital bedsheets. Drowsily, she moved her head to look at Elena and Bonnie. A small smile tugged at her pink lips. "Elena…Bonnie". Then she began to raise her head ever so slightly.

"Ohhhhh!" Elena felt Caroline's hand slip from hers as it went hold her pounding head.

"Shhhh. Don't move around too much Caroline." Elena said softly as she stroke her hair.

* * *

Caroline held her head for a few moments more before taking a deep breath. "What happened? I don't remember much. They just told me earlier that I was in a crash, but I don't really know what happened."

Bonnie sat down in a chair next to the bed. She saw Elena at a loss for how to explain what really happened and took the initiative herself. "You were in a car with Tyler and Matt. Tyler lost control of the car because of some sort of fit or something and the car crashed."

Caroline suddenly looked very worried. "What about Matt? And…and Tyler?"

Elena had to hold her down to keep Caroline's head from spinning again.

Bonnie calmly answered, "Matt was fine. Tyler was badly beaten up, but he's a quick healer, apparently. So that just leaves you, with a concussion, ugly bruising, and a nasty cut on your temple!" Bonnie made it sound as light hearted as she could.

Caroline's eyes widened until she was fighting Elena to get up. "Elena! I have to look in a mirror! If I get and ugly scar smack dab on my forehead, there'll be hell to pay! I have to see it…", the last ended on a whine.

Taking a deep breath Elena reached into her purse for a compact. "Alright Caroline, but promise me you won't freak."

Elena's words just seemed to make Caroline's fear worsen. She snatch the compact from Elena's hand gasped at the damage she saw. "Oh shit! Now Matt's gonna think I'm a monster, with this horrible gash. It had better not leave a scar! You don't think it will leave a scar do you? Elena? Bonnie?" She said this quickly, looking from one friend to the other in the hopes of a negative.

Her friends exchanged glances before both moved in to consol Caroline with words of comfort, that of course the cut wouldn't turn into a nasty scar. After all, they knew how to do miraculous things in this day and age. And even if there was a scar, it probably would fade to the point where it even gave her face some unique character. She could tell anyone who tried to mess with her or her man that she had gotten it in a bar fight and that the other person looked much worse. Caroline laughed at this, until she actually realized the implication that yes, there might be a scar after all. This started a whole new set of hysterics that Elena and Bonnie had to deal with. But for both of them, in light of new problems, this was a breath of fresh air.

* * *

Meanwhile, Stefan had gone back to the Salvatore Mansion. He wanted Elena's mind off of Jeremy for as long as he could get it that way. But even he realized that he couldn't make her forget for very long by himself. In fact, just being around her probably made her remember all that was going on in vampire land. So he gladly left Elena to Bonnie and left them alone to visit Caroline.

He dragged himself upstairs to bed, feeling colder than usual by the events of the past few days.

The next morning, Stefan awoke to this eerie feeling of being watched. He abruptly turned his head to side in the direction of the feeling and swore. "Damn it Damon!" His face had nearly collided with a mass of shiny black feathers. The Raven, staring at him with its beady little eyes, sat on his other pillow, the one Elena usually slept on. Somehow, it just seemed wrong. "Damon, get the hell off my pillow!" He said this as he grabbed the pillow out from under the large bird, knocking it off the bed.

The bird, though, deftly transformed, just in time to catch itself. "Geez, bro!" Damon looked wounded for all of three seconds. "Don't you mean _Elena's_ pillow?" His eyebrows rose suggestively.

Stefan wanted to swear at him some more. It really would make him feel better. But before he could utter one nasty word, Damon had interrupted. "I want you to help me with something, bro."

Damon obviously left it hanging for a reason, and Stefan was not about to give in to it. So he remained silent.

Finally, Damon got fed up with the silence and went on. "I want to find out more about this mysterious vampire hunter we have in our basement torturing a vampire, for obviously reasons. And I want you to help me!" Damon looked excited.

Stefan just shook his head. "What are you planning now, Damon?" Damon definitely kept life interesting. More _stressful_, but interesting.

"I want you to distract her while I search the stuff she brought into the house yesterday. I already searched her car last night, but _that_ was useless. The car's a piece of junk too. You'd think that someone who's trying to intimidate vampires would drive a nicer car…"

"What does that have to do with…".

"Look Stefan, I've this feeling about her, and it's not good. I just want your help to search the dungeon where she brought all her 'tools'." Damon air quoted with a disgusted look on his face."

Stefan sighed. "What if she finds out and gets mad, Damon? What is she is no longer to help us, huh?"

Damon just rolled his eyes. Stefan was doing his usual, worse case scenario thing in the hopes of scaring him out of doing it, but would ultimately capitulate. Stefan was _so_ predictable. "What if, what if…blah, blah, blah." Damon grabbed his shoulders. "Look Stefan, this chick is no good, I know it! But need to know why, so we know how to handle her."

Stefan was very predictable. That was one of the reasons why he loved him, not that he'd ever admit it. And so, as predicted, Stefan agreed to help.

* * *

Mariutza came up from the deep dank recesses of the smelly old basement, tired and hungry. She slowly made her way towards the kitchen, in search of sustenance. Stefan greeted her as she entered. "Hey, you must be hungry. Why don't you sit down, and I'll fix you something to eat!" He motioned towards the table for her to sit.

She eyed him warily at first, but decided it could do no harm. "But you don't need to eat. Besides, there isn't any food in the house. Not really, anyway."

Stefan began clanging around with pots and pans. "I went shopping this morning, so you'd have some here" He neglected to tell her that the real reason was just so he could make her this meal. "But, wait. You think that just because I don't need to eat, that I don't enjoy it now and then, and that that means I don't know how to cook?" He quizzed her, but she knew he was joking because of the smile in his eyes. Stefan was weird that way. Rarely did he actually give a real smile, but it was still there in his eyes. Damon was the exact opposite. He smiled all the time, but she had yet to see it reach his eyes. It scared her a little. Not a lot, mind you…but a little.

She just smiled in response and watched as Stefan got to work. He was really very good at it and it impressed her. The way he moved, the order in which he added ingredients, that way he stirred it, every move was calculated, perfected with years of practice. And he had had nearly 150 years. But there was more to it than practice. It was the way he felt about it that impressed her so much. She could tell he enjoyed cooking. She began to wonder if he cooked for Elena very often, if she enjoyed watching him as much as she herself did now. It wasn't that she liked him or anything. But just the idea of watching a man enjoy cooking was so different than anything she had seen before, and she had seen plenty.

Finally, Stefan was ready to serve the meal. He'd made an authentic Italian dish, some sort of pesto, with pasta. He was getting ready to take his first bite when Mariutza's ears perked up. Her attention was distracted. Suddenly, a broad smile spread over her features and a knowing look entered her eyes as she looked directly into Stefan's eyes. Stefan suddenly felt that weird foreboding feeling Damon had been talking about.

Mariutza got up from the table, bringing her plate with her, and Stefan followed. He had to see what he could do to fix what she was about to find. He followed her clear down to the basement. He wanted to make noise, to warn Damon, but knew if he did so, his fate might not be so good. Besides, there was nowhere for Damon to go anyway.

Stefan watched as she managed to noiselessly open the dungeon door, not even a creak. He saw her lean onto the door frame, arms folded across her chest. "Just what are you looking for, Damon? I'm sure my tools can't be _that_ interesting to an experienced veteran like you." Stefan wished he could've seen Damon's face just then. But she didn't sound mad, so that was good. In fact, she sounded more amused than anything.

Damon nearly asked her how she knew, but he stopped himself. She probably wouldn't answer anyway, and it would make him appear clueless. Instead, he decided to misdirect the attention. "You know, I wonder what Elena would think if she saw her brother all bruised and badly beaten lying in a heap on the floor…" Damon cockily waved a nasty looking leather whip around for emphasis. Never mind that it hurt like hell to even touch the thing. It was obviously coated in vervain. She was one nasty bitch. And Jeremy's unconscious body was proof of it.

"Nice try Damon. But I think we all know you weren't in here to check up on dear Jeremy." With that, she took a bite of the pasta. She nodded approvingly. "Well, despite it being a distractionary measure, it's pretty good Stefan. In fact, if Damon had been quicker, I would've never known about this little plan." Then she just left. Left the two of them in the dungeon to ponder both the insult to Damon's speed, and the fact that she really didn't seem to mind leaving them to search all they wanted.

It was then Damon realized that whatever she might have that was in the least bit informative had to be on her person.

* * *

After school was over, Stefan met up with Elena. They had decided to have a normal date and try to forget the weirdness going on in his basement. They met up at what seemed to be the one decent restaurant in town. They seated themselves and ordered two cokes and an appetizer.

Matt was there, looking all down with Tyler sitting beside him trying to talk the bartender into letting him have a swig, in light of his situation. Matt was trying to be very supportive despite Tyler being the cause behind Caroline's getting hurt. But he had to admit to himself that Tyler was hurting more. The funeral for Mr. Lockwood was the very next day, a Saturday.

The bartender was holding fast. So when Matt caught sight of Elena and Stefan, he gently patted Tyler's back and walked over to meet the two of them. "Hey Elena, have you seen Caroline today?"

"Yeah, I went by right after school. She said you'd skipped to spend the whole day with her. It meant a lot matt." Elena put her hand on his arm in thanks and regret that she hadn't done so herself.

Matt shrugged. "Hey listen, after the funeral tomorrow, could you help me start planning a party for Caroline for when she gets out of the hospital? Nothing major, just a few of her closest friends." Elena was about to protest and he could see it, so he added, "Hey, you know I'm not good at planning stuff on my own. And I think _that_ would mean a lot to Caroline." He obviously hadn't missed the guilt she had felt.

Elena's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Alright, Matt, I'll help." Matt turned to leave when stopped him by saying, "Oh, and Matt, is there anything I can do for Tyler? I know its gotta be hard on him."

Matt shrugged. "I'm not sure much can be done for dude…except maybe time. You know, they say time heals all wounds! Oh yeah, you're gonna have a funeral for your uncle soon, right?" Elena nodded "It's gotta be hard, losing him that way. I mean, a burglar? No one would've thought something like that would've happened in this sleepy little town. Usually, when a place gets robbed, everybody knows who did before the end of the day. But then again, some strange stuff's been happening here lately. I wonder what's with that?" He'd said most of this almost to himself. "But, how are ya dealin'?"

"I'm ok. I wasn't that close to him. But Jer was. He's taken it kinda hard. That's why he's been out of school."

"Well, remember, Elena. Time _does _heal all wounds." With that, he left and went back to his friend.

"Time doesn't heal _all_ wounds, Matt" Stefan said this under his breath and it brought their own problems with Katherine to the surface once more.

"How _is_ Jeremy doing?" Concerned seemed to be oozing out of Elena's every pore.

Stefan stiffened. He didn't want to have to tell her what he'd seen earlier that day. "Well, it's been kinda hard on him, I think. But that good news is that Mariutza let drop that he seemed to be breaking fairly rapidly, so it shouldn't be much longer."

Elena relaxed back in her seat. "That's good Stefan. I just hope he isn't too damaged afterwards, you know, emotionally…"

* * *

Later that evening, Stefan entered the mansion and saw Mariutza coming through the basement door. She looked tired and sweaty, like she had just had a workout. Which….now that he thought about it…she probably had.

He closed the door on the darkness outside. Then Stefan saw Damon appear in the corner of his vision. Damon seemed to tense at the sight of her and watch her as she approached Stefan.

"I think I would like to take a shower now. After all, it has been a long day so I must've worked up quite a stench". Mariutza just laughed.

"What, been working too hard, Mari?" Damon quizzed. Both Stefan and Mariutza ignored him.

Stefan agreed to show her the way to the guest bathroom. Damon watched as she ascended the stairs. As she neared the top, her hair caught the light of a candle. A Halo seemed to crown her head for a brief moment, but was gone before he could blink it away. Damon didn't know what possessed him, but he had to learn more about this annoyingly mesmerizing woman.

Moments later he found himself outside the guestroom's door. Stefan had shown her to the adjoining bathroom so that she would not be disturbed. After what had happened, Stefan had warned him to leave her alone. But Damon, waiting to hear the water running, and then quietly and very quickly stole into the guestroom; he made this effort on Stefan's part pointless.

Damon listened briefly at the bathroom door, to make sure she was actually _in_ the shower. His eyes dragged across the floor where she had discarded her clothes. He wondered if she would want them laundered, but decided not to ask…just yet. He looked for pockets in the pants, but found none. He almost moved on when he caught site of something white peeking out from the pile of black clothes. Curiosity won over and he picked the white undergarment up. He seemed pleased by the label and replaced the bra in the pile of clothing, careful to put it back just the way he found it.

His eyes roamed the room until they caught site of the belt, the same she stored her vervain injections in. He absently fingered it, running his fingers over the syringes and examining a notch seemingly designed to holster a gun. Obviously she had found this unnecessary to bring with her to visit the Salvatore brothers.

He then came across a pouch, which he thus unsnapped. Reaching his long pale fingers into it he pulled out something which he immediately dropped as though it had burnt his fingers. In reality, it should have had the opposite effect. On the floor now lay a chain on which hung several rings, just like the ones he and Stefan possessed, somehow knowing they weren't like the one Alaric had. There would be no reason for her to have that many immortal rings. She didn't even seem to wear one herself. No, the way these were displayed on the chain, it was as though they were trophies…

With shaking fingers, Damon quickly put the chain back in the pouch. It made him sick touching it, but who knows what she'd do if she knew he had found it.

He was about to leave the room when he paused, his hand on the doorknob. In the corner of his eye he saw it. What he had _really_ been after. It, too, hung on a chain, but with less menace. Her cameo, the one she had taken such pains to keep hidden, lay on the dresser, so innocently. Damon was immediately before the dresser. He reached his hand out to take it, then twitched back. Listening intently for several seconds before reaching out again, he lifted the cameo by the chain. He let it twirl back and forth several times before actually touching the cameo itself. He quickly pulled and prodded on various parts, looking for a way it might hold vervain, but found nothing.

It was a very pretty cameo, well carved, and very old. So old, in fact, that what he saw surprised him. The face, which he had previously not been afforded a good enough glance, was hauntingly familiar. The whole thing was eerie.

"It doesn't contain any vervain, if that's what you were wondering…"

Damon was so startled that he actually dropped the cameo onto the floor. He turned around, his mouth working for several seconds before he could actually say anything. The door was still closed. She had just been talking through the door. "I was just checking. I wouldn't want you to actually have a _reason_ to resist my _charm_." He smirked. "Of course, that doesn't mean you haven't ingested any…"

The door opened and she leaned on the doorframe wearing nothing but a cream colored towel. She smiled. "Don't worry Damon, I have enough reasons to resist your supposed charms, aside from vervain." She moved away from the doorframe and knelt before him. Damon tensed and his breath caught in his throat for a moment. But then she came back up holding the cameo. Damon's shoulders sagged ever so slightly. "You should be more careful with this, it's very old, you know."

Damon nodded. Then he grimaced. "Wait, _supposed charms_?"

Ignoring Damon's question, she simply latched the necklace around her neck and put on a robe Stefan had supplied.

He couldn't help himself this time, he had to ask. "How did you know?" Damon was being intentionally vague in his question.

Mariutza looked up from her bent position of gathering up clothes, giving Damon a nice flash of her ample cleavage. "Know what? You already know that I know _a lot_ of things. So be specific."

Damon crossed his arms in front of his chest. He had always liked the way his muscles bulged when he did this. Why he should care to do this now, he didn't know. "How did you know I was in here, looking at your necklace? You were in the bathroom." His tone was dead serious. (Pun intended, hehe)

Setting the clothes back on the bed, Mariutza straitened up and walked closer to him. "Damon, you have to realize something. At this time, there is a lot I cannot tell you yet, including in regards to the question you just asked. But what I can tell you is that my "job" is basically nine-tenths prediction. Predicting what the vampire will do, predicting how the people will react, all of that is necessary in my line of work." She was extremely grim as she said these words, as though it pained her to say them.

Damon took a step closer, then another, trying to decide on his come back. Finally he just acted. Within milliseconds, he had one hand on her waist, and one at the back of her neck, and he was kissing her with rough intensity. After several seconds he realized that she just stood stiffly in his arms, not reacting, not caring. Abruptly, he stopped and pushed her from him just enough to gauge her reaction. Her face seemed to technically be straight-faced, but inside, deep within her eyes, he could see her smoldering. At least he had affected her in _some_ manner. "Did you predict that?"

Her expression stayed the same. "No, as a matter of fact, I did not."

Just one more quip and he'd be done. "So what's the other ten percent of your job?"

He realized too late that he shouldn't have asked the question. One second her hand was on his shoulder pulling him closer, and he momentarily hoped for…something. But then her knee came up and purposefully collided with his abdomen. The next second, he was lying on the floor, in nearly as much pain as when Pearl had clawed his eyes out.

* * *

**So what did ya'll think? This was probably my favorite chap to write so far! I tried to fill in some gaps in this chapter too, with caroline and jeremy not being in school, but if you notice any other plot holes, please let me know. Sometimes it's hard for the writer to see the plot holes. **

**Oh, and what I want your opinion on was, with Mr. lockwood's funeral happening soon, do you guys think I should introduce the charater of Mason Lockwood, or just leave him out? I will decide based on what get the most votes, so if you want your opinion heard, you have to review! I also made a poll to keep tally, so check it out in my profile!**

**And who do you think the carving in Mariutza's cameo is of? You will find out in the next chapter so I want to see how many can figure it out, just out of personal curiosity. I think you will be surpised, though. I could be wrong. ^_^**

**And remember, the more reviews I get, the sooner I will update!**

**So again, please review, you wonderful people who read my story!**


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